Winning is the most important thing in postseason basketball.
But it was hardly an issue for Johnson High about four minutes into its GHSA Class AAA state playoff first-round game with Rockmart on Wednesday night.
The Atom Smashers had a double-digit lead less than two minutes into the contest, forced seven turnovers on Rockmart’s first seven possessions and had a 17-point advantage before the Yellow Jackets scored.
It all added up to a name-the-score 73-36 Johnson victory that sent the Smashers to the second round of state against the winner of Carver/Columbus-Swainsboro next Saturday.
So what did Johnson get out of the easy victory?
Coach Utaff Gordon pondered the question for several moments.
“Confidence for the next round, that’s the only thing I can say,” he said.
Confidence could have been lacking after the Smashers stumbled in the Region 1-AAA tournament championship game in a 67-58 loss to Savannah High last Friday.
“If anything, it was on me,” Gordon said. “I internalized (the loss). I expected to win the region, but now it’s on to the next phase of our mission.”
Rockmart, located west of Atlanta near the Alabama border, didn’t come close to putting doubt into the minds of the Atom Smashers.
The Yellow Jackets (11-18) finished sixth in the eight-team Region 4-AAA during the regular season, but won three times in its region tournament to finish as its region’s third seed. They went 9-9 over their last 18 games, five of those losses coming by five points or less.
But Johnson (21-6) was too tall and too talented, and recollections of two straight first-round state tournament defeats were soon distant memories.
And it was evident from the jump ball which the Smashers controlled, leading to Greg Mortimer’s streaking layup.
The game quickly took on the qualities of a playground affair. Dunks and threes were popular.
Getting back on defense, optional.
In the second quarter, Johnson had four straight dunks including an ahead-of-the-field 360-degree throwdown by LSU-bound Tim Quarterman.
No, Johnson did not look as if it lost any confidence.
“(The loss to Savannah High) was a wake-up call,” Quarterman said. “We were just missing shots. That game came down to who made more shots and they did on that night. That’s how that went. We’re looking at the big picture now.”
Quarterman finished with 17 points against Rockmart, 13 in the first half.
Saadiq Muhammad had 10 points and Rico Bonds nine.
Kwame Peek paced Rockmart with 11.
“We came in with renewed focus,” Gordon said. “They didn’t want to leave anything to chance.”
ROCKMART (36)
Smith 6, Middlebrooks 9, Ayers 2, Phillips 2, Kwame Peck 11, Welch 2, Twine 4.
JOHNSON (73)
Tim Quarterman 17, Roberson 7, Mortimer 8, Lovett 4, Myers 5, Bonds 9, Saadiq Muhammad 10, Morris 4, Holmes 6, Maxwell 3.
Halftime—Johnson, 49-19. Records—Rockmart 11-18; Johnson 21-6.